WASHINGTON – New research shows that the turnover rate for franchise outlets in the United States over the last four years from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2013 is 122 percent, with more leaving than opening. The good news for the industry is that franchise outlets have grown at a pace just shy of one percent a year since 2010, according to disclosure filings.

What are the top industries filled with companies that have the highest average net profits compared to just about everyone else? According to one researcher, skill and capital intensive firms create industries with the highest net profits.

ATLANTA – Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. announced today that new and existing franchisees have signed development agreements with the franchisor. The franchising firm has nearly 3,400 Arby's restaurants worldwide.

BANGOR, Maine – Franchising since 1994, Coffee News is experiencing a free fall in the number of its franchise owners. The chain has declined in franchise units by 31 percent from 2008 to 2012, according to its latest Franchise Disclosure Document.

WASHINGTON – Brokers and financial consultants have been promoting for the past 15 years to prospective franchise buyers the use of Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans in purchasing a startup business to avoid tax burdens.

Growth in professional sports franchises & key related industries

SANTA MONICA, Calif. —If you want to own a franchise, research shows that the boats rise a little faster for sports team owners. If you can afford one, professional sports team franchises will be one of the strongest growing sectors compared to other sectors tied to sports.

Critics, including this journal, say that buying a franchise is riskier than ever, that the reality of the franchise system is often purposefully and skillfully hidden and that it is easier to fail nowadays once you plunge in.

Chicago's Chip Mitchell and Shannon Hefferman of National Public Radio affiliate WEBZ had an on-air discussion with the IFA's VP of Public Relations Matt Haller, General Counsel at National Employment Law Project Catherine Ruckelshaus, IFA's Public Policy VP Jay Perron and UnhappyFranchisee.com's editor Sean Kelly.

Franchising firms are being blamed for grabbing too much latent value from franchised outlets to pad their own profits.. Critics and some economists say that while the number of franchised outlets may be growing, their employee wages are suffering as franchised store owners struggle to cut costs everywhere to cope with their razor thin profit margins.

Expert Advice

As the publisher of three annual books on franchising and the manager of eight websites that deal solely with franchising, the World Franchising Network has long been fascinated with the increasingly favorable trend among franchisors to provide Financial Performance Representations (Item 19s) in their Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs).

Are certain industries more suited to franchising? The answer depends on the importance of brand recognition to consumers. Given the fickle nature of public taste, it may be hard to generalize. However, convenience stores like 7-Eleven are a prime example of a franchise model in action.